<p>What school should I choose for piano performance? What are the positives and negatives of each school? I would like to hear some opinions and advices. THanks.</p>
<p>I have friends that attend all three of those schools. I have heard so many good things about each of them. They are all top notch schools for piano, and music in general. I think it comes down to your own preference, as far as location, student body, and overall vibe. Don't listen too closely to people's recommendations... you can only choose your own fit yourself.</p>
<p>I was accepted at NW and Oberlin (I didn't apply UMich) as well as other schools, and am trying to make my own decision myself. I'm also a pianist, so maybe I'll see you next year!</p>
<p>Are you doing a double degree? It is possible at all of these schools; the music would be great at all three, but the academic experience would be different because of the size of the schools and departments. There is also a big difference in the locations. You should visit if you haven't already. It may also depend on which teachers you would have and how you would like working with them. Have you had sample lessons with anyone, for example.</p>
<p>My daughter had the same choice last year, although on a different instrument. She's now at University of Michigan.
Her decision was based on:
1. teacher
2. location (she liked both Evanston and Ann Arbor, and felt Oberlin was too far "in the middle of nowhere") 3. "conservatory feel" For reasons I have not fully understood she had heard from many of her friends that the School of Music at Michigan would be more of a complete "conservatory experience" than the Music School at Northwestern. Perhaps someone else could comment, but I know that she is very happy at Michigan.
She is currently enrolled in the double degree program, but that is the same at all 3 schools.
So, I think the main thing (other than size and geography) you should be considering is who your teacher will be.</p>
<p>All three schools have wonderful programs (including overnight stays) for admitted students. When my daughter went to the Northwestern program, she knew that was where she wanted to be. When my son last year visited Oberlin, he knew that was the school for him, and is now a very happy freshman Double Degree student. You should go where you see yourself being happiest. All the schools have great reputations and all are extremely different (most of all in the number of students--25,000 vs. 8,000 vs. 2,800). There are advantages to each school and no one is perfect. Choose the one you can best picture yourself attending. Congratulations, you are obviously quite talented.</p>
<p>for your advices. I happen to know professors from all three schools and work pretty well with them. Now, I'm just trying to figure out which school would fit me better. Any further advices would be appreciated. Thanks</p>
<p>All are excellent schools, and if you are comfortable with and confident about the piano professor, and finances are doable, the issue becomes one of environment and community. Oberlin is rural and it is an undergraduate institution. It would be the hardest to get to and from logistically. Northwestern is urban, and it has graduate as well as undergraduate students; there would be access to all Chicago offers. UMichigan is a big music school, lots collaborative artists amongst the students and many actively performing faculty artists. It is a wonderful college town, and it offers much of what a city does. Be sure you know what the practice facilities and access are in all of the school in weighing the decision. You cannot go wrong, whatever you chose. Good luck! Lorelei</p>
<p>^Oberlin is not necessarily inaccessible. If you're flying in, it is an easy 30 minute drive from the Cleveland airport, and there may be a shuttle bus. Getting to Northwestern from O'Hare would be a lot harder, especially in traffic. Choosing on the basis of size and culture is a better idea.</p>
<p>There is a bus. Here is the schedule</p>
<p>$4 with Oberlin ID, $6 otherwise.</p>
<p>Absolutely, it takes longer to get from O'Hare to Northwestern than from Hopkins (Cleveland airport) to Oberlin, even though the ride to Oberlin feels like you are going through rural farmland, and in Chicago it's all urban. In traffic, O'Hare is even worse. For that matter, in traffic it could take longer to get from LAX to UCLA (about 11 miles) than the Cleveland-Oberlin trip.</p>
<p>Some of the issue may be easy proximity to events away from campus, and there is more to access from Northwestern and UMichigan. Logistics from the airports are not every week problems.</p>
<p>There are lots of events at Oberlin and Cleveland is a major city. The big differences are in culture: Michigan is a big state university, in a suburban area, with all that being a big state school includes: many large classes, huge sports enthusiasm; Northwestern is middle sized, with lots of preprofessional schools, which could be fun for a preprofessional musician; it is near, but not in, a great city; Oberlin is small, with a liberal arts, whole student kind of education and also a great history of social engagement; its double degree program appears to be supportive. It is a little like Goldilock's choices...which one is "just right"? You should visit the three schools and see how you feel there, and consider the relative tuition costs of all of them too.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, the conservatories at these three schools are actually not so different in size: Oberlin has about 620 students, Northwestern ahs 410 undergrad and 240 grad students and UMich has 750 undergrads and about 300 grad students, so if your life will be mostly about the conservatory you will probably find all three of these schools "small" even though two are located within larger universities.</p>
<p>i agree with many people on this thread.. it is very important for you to consider what you want out of a school. do you want mostly a close-knit community? do you want to spend most of your time with music students? what are your social activities? do you love watching or playing sports? do you love parties? do you just like to "hang" with your friends...? each of the schools you are considering have pros and cons but for example, if you are into watching sports and taking part in major school spirited events, then u mich is best for that...although northwestern also has great sports and an awesome sports facility. oberlin is much different in that aspect. im also planning to major in piano performance and for me oberlin is too small, too isolated and not enough althetics...you definetely should visit these schools. the campuses are very different as well. northwestern has an ivy league feel and is a gorgeous campus. u mich is beautiful but is definetely more spread out and you would need to take buses back and forth from the north to the central campus. (north campus has the music school) (central campus would have english and language classes and thats where the ann arbor restaurants and shops are)...another thing to investigate is the social life...sorry that i can't speak of oberlin that much ...but since im not considering it anymore and i never visited , i don't know that much. anyway, the social life at northwestern is about i believe 35% greek where as u mich is 13%...so there are many aspects to consider...dorms as well...as i said before, visiting the college gives you a much better idea and also speaking to current students should help a lot. i do have to say that u mich's music school is much nicer (physically) than northwestern's . despite the fact that northwestern has a gorgeous campus, the inside of the music school is sort of run down....i would be happy to continue talking to you about the schools you are applying to ...because im in a similiar situation. oh how could i forget...what i believe the most important thing is ..is the teacher. so you should definetely find the teacher that most fits you by taking lessons from them. my email is <a href="mailto:sontina32@yahoo.com">sontina32@yahoo.com</a></p>
<p>Just a quick note on the issue of buses and the UMich "North Campus". D who is a freshman double degree student at UMich almost didn't apply there because her high school college counselor (otherwise quite helpful and knowledgeable) said that the North campus would be too isolated and the bus too much to manage. In fact, it's really no problem: buses run very often,usually every 10 minutes up to 2:00 am (and there are also locals taxi services, and many students do have cars as well for emergencies, really late nights, etc.). Class starting times are also staggered so North campus classes begin on the hour, and Central campus on the half hour (or vice-versa, I forget exactly) so the bus ride is factored in and nobody needs to stress about scheduling classes on both campuses.
Other facilities/schools are also on North campus,(engineering, architecture, great new Arthur Miller Theater, great library open 24 hrs. student centers, etc.) so it's still a lively place, although somewhat quieter than Central campus.
At any rate, there may be other reasons to choose Northwestern or Oberlin over UMich, but the bus/North campus is not really an issue.</p>
1 Like
<p>How competitive is Michigan's music school? If I didn't get into Eastman/NEC, do I have no chance? I'm into UMich Ann Arbor, but applied too late to their music school. I'm also in Cal and Vandy + Blair... should I just enroll in Mich and apply to their music school when I get there? I am very interested in pursuing a dual degree program.</p>
<p>Michaigan's music school is quite competitive and admissions decisions have already been made for this year. (the last audition day was last weekend). There are music opportunities for non-Music School students, however; you don't say what instrument you play, but there are 2 university orchestras and the marching band, and you can take lessons (although usually with grad students); I suppose you could enroll and apply to the music school for next year, but you should probably inquire directly as to how whether that would be a very good possibility for you. It is also possible (although rare) for non-Music school students to audition and be accepted into the music school ensembles.</p>
<p>Yeah... I missed the deadline. I just don't want to go there and then suddenly find out that I can't get in. I guess I should call them and ask them.</p>